Updated 2023
There I was, at 8pm scrolling through TikTok on the couch when I stumbled upon a beauty creator recreating Matilda Djerf’s iconic summery glow.
I’ll be honest, I have never heard of Matilda Djerf (because apparently, I’ve been under a rock) so I quickly found myself in a rabbit hole and agreed with the internet: she constantly has that skin kissed glowy look that makes her seem like she just spent the day on the beach in Positano.
And I wanted that look too. Enter: Saie Beauty.
I don’t think I ever ran to by something so fast off TikTok. But – does this brand actually work for us normals that aren’t blessed by the DNA gods who already have great skin? I had to find out.
Spoiler: Saie is now one of my favorite makeup brands and I have so many of their products on my shelf. I usually opt for this TooFaced primer during the winter but otherwise, Saie products are always part of my makeup routine now.
But, not all their products are made equal.
Here’s an honest Saie review along with the best Saie products (and worst) to buy!
I use Saie Slip Tint almost daily now (shade 2 is my go-to). I have freckles and this somehow magically coverages uneven skin tones (like bags under my eyes) but still allows for my freckles to show through for a natural makeup look.
- Light & airy
- Hyaluronic Acid for hydration
- SPF protection
- Could use more skin tone options
This is the product that converted me to Saie. Their glowy super gel can be worn solo or acts like a primer under foundation. In the summertime when I'm tan, I usually just wear this & an SPF.
- Hydrating Squalane Oil
- Can wear solo or under as a primer
- perfect glowy skin
- (maybe) needs one more darker shade option
A friend of mine swears by Saie Mascara 101 - it just didn't work for me since I have hooded eyes and can really only wear waterproof mascara that doesn't rub off easily. But if you want an ultra clean mascara and don't have hooded eyes, you'll love this.
- thick, buildable formula
- Uses Shea Butter
- Not waterproof
- Not great for hooded eyes
I'm really picky about my bronzer and many many brands, it just doesn't melt onto my skin well. But, Saie's bronzer is easy to blend without being messy, comes in a good range of bronzer shades for skin tones and stays all day.
- Velvet finish
- Blends well
- Made with Colloidal Oatmeal
- You need to buy a brush
Look, this is a great blush. The pigment is easy to work with you and can add a touch of color or build it up on your skin. I love cream blushes like Saie's Dew Blush but I love Rare Beauty's blush even more, which is why this is a 4 star rating.
- Cream gel
- Chubby doe-foot applicator
- Need to build up color
The older I get, the darker the bags under my eyes get. I love using creamy concealer like the Saie Hydrabeam which stays all day. It was hard for me using the Saie shade finder to match my slip tint shade to this concealer but once I found it, I was hooked. I can see why it's one of Saie's top sellers!
- Visibly brightening
- 15 shades
- Melts onto skin
- A little pricey
I was very excited about the Candelilla Wax for sculpting brows. Sadly, I none of their shades matched my eyebrows perfectly. I did like their clear butter for taming straw eyebrow hairs, but I didn't feel like this is a must have in my makeup routine.
- Candelilla Wax
- Tames brows
- Could use more shades
Saie's brand new Glowy Super Skin is basically a mix of their Glowy Super Gel and Slip tint, which I generally wear together but this product missed the mark for me. This new serum foundation is thick and almost sticky. If you love thick coverage, you'll like this but I'll be sticking to the slip tint.
- 31 shades
- Indian Gooseberry extract
- Sticky
- hard to find perfect shade
Saie Beauty At A Glance
This was my first introduction to Saie makeup products but the clean beauty brand has been around since 2019 when Saie Beauty founder Laney Crowell created the brand. She wanted to create a beauty brand that focused on 5 core pillars: Conscious, Luxurious, Earth-minded, Award-winning, New.
Basically, they set out to make one of the world’s best high-performance formulas that have sustainable packaging and use clean ingredients. According to their website, these are Saie’s best selling products:
- Slip Tint: a Dewy Tinted Moisturizer: uses Hyaluronic Acid and SPF
- Hydrobeam Conclear: uses Squalane, Glycerin, Cucumber, and Tomato extract for coverage
- Glowy Super Gel: a glowiest, lightest weight luminizer that doubles as SPF and primer.
- Dewy Blush: A cream blush so good it won the Shape Beauty Awards
- Saie Dew Balm: A highlight that has plumping moisture and won like, all the magazine awards
I would say those are the top hitters, but there’s also the Liquid Lip Balm (a colored lip balm / liquid lipstick ), Saie Brow Butter (eyebrows) and a setting powder along with makeup brushes.
Personally, I’m a mega fan of Sigma Beauty Brushes so I didn’t try Saie brushes out.
Saie Beauty Review 2023 – My 2 Favorite Products
Now, let’s chat about the two core products that are my absolute favorite! My goal of this post is to convert you hehe.
Saie Glowy Super Gel Review
I got the Starglow shade. The cool thing about the Saie super glowy gel is that it doubles as an SPF and a primer, so it really is the best thing to have in your summer makeup bag. (Personally, I’m bringing both the gel on my June – July trip to Denmark to embrace that Midnight sun glow.)
You can easily mix it into your favorite BB cream, CC cream, foundation or tinted moisturizer. I tried it both with my Saie Slip Tint (details below) and also E.L.F. cc cream to test how it works with different brands.
The product gets a little more silky but since the gel is also a primer it helps the cream stick to your face for even coverage with an underglow shine.
When you wear the super gel solo, your face is left with a nice shimmer. Not a sweaty shimmer but more like that shimmer you get after swimming in the ocean and your face is still a bit damp.
I’m writing this post trapped in the middle of San Francisco’s summer June gloom fog, so I haven’t had a chance to get properly summer sunkissed yet but I have a sneaking feeling this glow gel is going to be amazing when I am.
See, I have tons of freckles so I hate covering up them with conclearer, especially in the summer when they POP. It looks strange for them to suddenly be covered up.
I love the idea of Saie Glowy Super Gel to layer on top of my tan face for a little extra something on days I don’t want to actually wear makeup.
Or, in the winter when I want to lean on bronzer to replicate that sunkissed summer look, even if I haven’t been in the sun for ages. I’m excited for all the possibilities this gel can bring to future makeup looks.
- Saie Glowy Super Gel Ingredients: Water Caprylic/capric triglyceride Propanediol Glycerin Mica Hydroxyethyl acrylate/Sodium acryloyldimethyl taurate copolymer Squalane Caprylyl glycol Phenethyl alcohol Ethylhexylglycerin Polysorbate 60 Ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate Papaya seed oil Rosa canina fruit oil Lactic acid Titanium dioxide Iron oxides.
Saie Slip Tint Review
When I first cracked open my Slip Tint for my Saie tinted moisturizer review, a big watery glop of product spit out everywhere. I remember thinking “uh-oh, that’s not good” and instantly being wary of the product.
I hate when tinted moisturizer or BB/CC creams become too stick on my skin. They always end of almost sliding off my face during the day instead of setting and staying put.
Saie’s Slip Tint is NOT like this. I think the product separated a bit during shipping, I just had to shake the bottle a bit.
When I applied it to my face I was amazed by how easy it went on. It wasn’t oily at all, but also not too drying. The color matched my skin almost perfectly and melted into my face to enhance my skin, not totally paint over it.
It lasts all day and was a great foundation to build blush and highlighter over. And, it looks fantastic when mixed in with the glowy gel. I’m hooked. This Saie foundation is amazing for people with freckles like me.
- Slip Tint Ingredients: Zinc Oxide (15%) Water Coco-Caprylate/Caprate Vitis Vinifera (Grape) Seed Oil C15-19 Alkane Isocetyl Stearoyl Stearate Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil Tocopheryl Acetate Sodium Hyaluronate Crosspolymer Jojoba Esters Tribehenin Beeswax Glyceryl Stearate Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate Glycerin Lactobacillus Acacia Senegal Gum Xanthan Gum Viola Tricolor Extract Bisabolol Glycyrrhiza Glabra (Licorice) Root Extract Sodium Hyaluronate Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Fruit Extract Titanium Dioxide Iron Oxides Mica.
Saie Glowy Super Skin Foundation
Last up let’s chat about Saie’s Glowy Super Skin Foundation! This is brand new and is getting tons of hype so I had to great a little section on it.
Here’s the thing: I think it’s fine, but not outstanding. I found it very hard to pick the right shade. Unlike the Slip Tint, the foundation comes in many many shades but there’s no guidance on which shade to pick based on your slip tint shade.
I ended up buying a shade that’s a little off for my face which was disappointing.
The texture is very liquidy and the first time I applied it, it dried all cakey. The second I applied it was after a night of face masks when my skin was my hydrated and it wasn’t as cakey. So, this isn’t a good product if you have dry skin.
I’ll be sticking to the glowy super gel and slip tint instead of switching to this but I would love to hear your thoughts and if you feel the same way in the comments below!
Frequently Asked Questions About Saie Beauty
Is Saie Really Clean?
Yes! Saie has super strict standards when formulating their beauty products, and they’re transparent about it, too. There’s over 2000 ingredients they won’t even touch and meet EU standards (not United States since ours are more lax).
They’re Leaping Bunny Certified, are certified plastic negative and have efforts to reduce their carbon footprint.
Saie Beauty Where To Buy
Look out for Saie Black Friday deals in November. I have a feeling I’ll be stocking up then so I can have a glowy look all the way through February.
Is Saie Beauty Worth The Hype?
Well, I can tell you that I was hooked on Saie tinted moisturizer and glowy gel already and after trying thier other products, many have snuck their way into my makeup routine. Yes, Saie beauty is worth the hype!
I think if I were to shop Saie again for the first time I would get the Sun Day Set which features the Sun Melt bronzer and Slip Tint, then of course get some Super Glowy gel for a solid summer look.
They also have a Staples Kit with the glow gel, slip tint and mascara 101 if you want to make your own custom Saie makeup bag (personally I’m a mega-fan of Maybelline Big Lash but if you need new mascara go for this. It’s one of my favorite Drugstore Makeup products!)
I’ve now been wearing both the Glowy Gel and Slip Tint for a few weeks straight while running around in Denmark.
The days are long here – the sun rises at around 4am and sets around 11pm, so I need a foundation and primer that lasts all dang day. I’ve been loving how I can put this combo on and forget about it.
My skin feels hydrated all day, I have coverage all day and I even get compliments!! My beloved BB cream that I’ve been using since college was discontinued a year so so back and I’ve been desperate to find a replacement that I love just as much or more.
I think I finally found it with Saie Beauty Glowy Super Gel and Slip Tint combo.
Have your own Saie reviews to add? I would love to hear your thoughts below!!
8 comments
*Tldr: glowy gel is NOT an spf, only slip tint is. I love Saie too
Hi! I also love Saie! It’s the first makeup that made me actually want to try it out (didn’t wear it before) :-). Bc I love shimmer and they also say makeup is for anyone to play with any way they want, which is refreshing bc I’m not a fan of modifying my appearance to fit certain appearance ideas.
Anyway! I just wanted to say actually the gel is NOT an spf. The slip tint is, but the glowy gel is just an oil based highlighter. On their site they don’t list it as an spf and it doesn’t have any spf ingredients in it (titanium dioxide is the very bottom of the list, and nothing else). Just wanted to make sure there was no confusion and avoiding unintentional sunburns!
Man I really wished I would have seen this before I placed an order 🤦 and I usually look into the company’s before hand 😭 my bad!!!!
What shade in the saie foundation did you use? It’s always very helpful when beauty reviews contain shades.
I wear the #2 shade!
Thank you so much for this! It really helped.
The “Fat Tax” in this case–especially for these “mid fast fashion” companies is a ridiculous comment. for them to make sizes above an XL they’re not as standard in terms of the MOQ and amount of material range their manufacturer (china) uses so they have to have a larger margin of error and makeup for that. It is not a $20 greater profit margin lol. I’ve worked in fashion and making plus size clothing for companies like this, which is not their bread and butter (the majority of sales coming from S-XL), these are specialty sizes. That’s not fat shaming or anything bad. So these are specialty sizes that require more material but they stock LESS of them because the DEMAND is LOWER. Thus, to fulfill an MOQ at the manufacturer, or go below it, it’s going to cost more. Hope this helps.
Thank you so much for this! It really helped.
Thank you thank you thank you! Always leery about a company that does not get back to the customer and certainly hate the we will decide if your return is worthy if return shipping. Plus we have similar bodies and if they don’t fit you right they sure as H won’t fit me right either. The cart remains as is. No dice.